logo
Nandyal MP Byreddy Shabari attends BRICS parliamentary summit

Nandyal MP Byreddy Shabari attends BRICS parliamentary summit

Hans Indiaa day ago

VIJAYAWADA: Lok Sabha MP Dr Shabari Byreddy is participating in the 11th BRICS Parliamentary Forum being held in Brazil from June 3–5, representing India as a woman parliamentarian on an international platform.
Speaking at the session on Empowering Women to Face the Climate Crisis, Dr Shabari highlighted how India has always been active in protecting the environment, even before global discussions on climate change began. She referred to the Chipko Movement of the 1970s, where rural women played a key role in saving forests. She also spoke about India's progress on climate goals, including a 24% reduction in emission intensity over 2005 levels, and achieving 159 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity, already meeting its 40% target.
She mentioned that India now has the largest number of Ramsar sites in entire South Asia. Dr Shabari also spoke about the need for gender-inclusive climate policies and the important role women can play in environmental protection. She said Indian women, seen as 'Shakti', have the power to bring change and heal the world.
In another part of her address, she focused on the role of women in the age of Artificial Intelligence, calling for digital literacy, equal access and inclusion in new technologies.
'It was truly enriching to engage and exchange ideas with fellow parliamentarians from across the globe, especially from BRICS nations. These interactions reinforced the importance of dialogue, solidarity and shared commitment to progress and equality,' she said.
She further thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu for the opportunity to be part of this important international event.
The delegation of parliamentarians participating in the Summit was led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

India's global engagement needs rethink, says Congress
India's global engagement needs rethink, says Congress

Hans India

time31 minutes ago

  • Hans India

India's global engagement needs rethink, says Congress

New Delhi: Congress leader Supriya Shrinate, in a press briefing on Friday, expressed concern over what she described as a decline in India's diplomatic engagement and visibility on the global stage. She specifically referred to India's absence from major forums like the G7, despite being among the world's largest economies. Shrinate cited then-US President Barack Obama's 2010 remarks in praise of then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and questioned why countries like Canada now appear hesitant to extend invitations to India for the G7. She interpreted this as a sign of waning diplomatic influence. She also referred to public statements made by US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly claimed to have brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The Congress spokesperson further said that similar assertions are now being echoed by Russia. She urged the Indian government to respond clearly to these claims, either by refuting them or explaining the context if they are accurate. "The nation deserves clarity," she said, stressing the importance of transparency in foreign affairs. Shrinate also voiced apprehensions over what she viewed as a preference for image-building over substantive diplomacy. She warned against focusing too heavily on symbolic gestures or visual narratives. She, in this context, suggested that a more strategic and consistent foreign policy is needed to safeguard national interests. She expressed concern over "the evolving global perception" of Pakistan. Institutions like the IMF, the ADB, and the World Bank, she noted, have extended significant financial support to Pakistan, while the country has also assumed roles in global bodies such as the UN's Counter-Terrorism Committee. In her view, this is at odds with India's long-standing position on terrorism and reflects a missed opportunity for stronger international advocacy. Commenting on recent international outreach by Indian parliamentary delegations, Shrinate questioned the effectiveness of such efforts. She pointed out that many of these visits resulted in meetings with lower-level officials or Indian diaspora groups, rather than influential foreign leaders or decision-makers. "We need to assess what tangible outcomes these visits have achieved," she remarked. Turning to domestic matters with international implications, Shrinate referred to the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals. She questioned the timing of the Prime Minister's visit to Jammu and Kashmir, suggesting that it came more as part of a ceremonial event than a response to the tragedy. She expressed disappointment that "national security concerns in sensitive regions are not always met with prompt or visible engagement". Shrinate also commented on alleged shifts in India's traditional alliances, pointing to what she called Russia's recent cooperation with Pakistan. She warned that regional dynamics are changing, with China and Pakistan strengthening ties—a development, she said, that has long been cautioned against by opposition leaders. When asked about Congress MPs, including Shashi Tharoor, who participated in foreign delegations and later described the visits as positive, Shrinate acknowledged the complexities of international diplomacy. She explained that while representatives may exercise restraint abroad, there remains a responsibility to ask hard questions back home. She cited Kuwait's recent decision to lift a 19-year visa ban on Pakistan shortly after an Indian delegation's visit, suggesting this raised legitimate questions about diplomatic impact. A key concern she highlighted was the apparent reluctance to hold comprehensive discussions in Parliament on foreign policy matters, while simultaneously prioritising engagement with Indian communities abroad. "There seems to be a disconnect between domestic accountability and international outreach," she said. The Congress spokesperson stressed the need for a more grounded and outcome-driven foreign policy approach. In her view, the current trajectory risks sidelining India's voice in global conversations, despite its growing economic stature.

AMCA Explained: How India Plans to Build Its Own Stealth Fighter  Ft. Sandeep Unnithan
AMCA Explained: How India Plans to Build Its Own Stealth Fighter  Ft. Sandeep Unnithan

India Today

time36 minutes ago

  • India Today

AMCA Explained: How India Plans to Build Its Own Stealth Fighter Ft. Sandeep Unnithan

India's next-gen stealth fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), just got a massive push from the government with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh clearing an execution model for the jet's design and development. On this episode of In Our Defence, veteran defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan breaks down what this means for the future of Indian airpower, how private players like Tata and L&T could shape the aircraft production ecosystem, and what role the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is likely to play. Sandeep also decodes the different generations of fighter aircraft, detailing what makes a fifth-generation jet stand out from the current crop of Indian Air Force jets such as the Rafales, Tejas, Sukhois and Mirages, among others. The episode also features a discussion on India's attempts to develop its own fighter jet engine and how that quest -- unsuccessful so far -- becomes all the more important for the AMCA. Produced by Prateek Lidhoo Sound mix by Rohan Bharti

India at BRICS is a balancing force, not anti-US
India at BRICS is a balancing force, not anti-US

First Post

time37 minutes ago

  • First Post

India at BRICS is a balancing force, not anti-US

India may have its own share of grudges with the West or even the US, including its recent experience during Operation Sindoor, but it will prefer bilateral mechanism to register them on a one-on-one basis read more US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made an explosive statement this week when he said that the United States views India's membership of BRICS in a very negative way because of the grouping's obsession with de-dollarisation, something that does not go down well in making friends or influencing people in America. While Lutnick is right about BRICS's fixation with challenging the dollar hegemony, he is absolutely off the mark when it comes to judging India's role at the grouping. As a matter of fact, if there is one country that effectively tempers the anti-US or the larger anti-West rhetoric and agenda at BRICS then it has to be India. It is a different matter that Trump administration officials such as Lutnick may not want to engage with nuanced arguments while putting charges but even a cursory assessment of reality will prove how India is a genuinely balancing force at BRICS. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After the end of the Cold War, in the emerging geopolitical scenario of the 1990s, all the three prominent BRICS member countries—India, China and Russia—were duly following a policy of mending their respective bridges with the West. Unlike India and Russia, China had a greater advantage here because its rapprochement with the West had begun a little earlier with the famous 1972 visit by US President Richard Nixon to Beijing. For India, the world had changed drastically in 1991 with the disintegration of the erstwhile Soviet Union and a debilitating balance of payment crisis. India as a much-reformed economy was naturally gravitating towards the capitalist powerhouse of the world, the United States, as best captured in the visit by the then- Prime Minister, PV Narasimha Rao, who declared to corporate America loudly that India is now open for Business. The firm steps of conviction that each of these countries including India, China and Russia were taking towards the west left little doubt towards their intentions. However, an interesting twist came in the late 1990s when Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov gave his famous 'Primakov Doctrine' that advocated for a multipolar world order to counterbalance the US particularly through a strategic triangle between Russia, India and China. Although the RIC strategic triangle has since remained a pipe dream, this coordination took a concrete shape with the establishment of BRICS in the year 2009. Ironically, BRICS was a term that was originally coined by an American economist Jim O'Neill in 2001 to refer to the potential of emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China that according to him would even dominate the global economy by 2050. But soon this term took on a life of its own when a rising and increasingly assertive China and a revisionist Russia started using the BRICS forum to push their own alternative to a West-led world order. One of the leading examples of their efforts is the thrust on expanding the grouping to include countries such as Iran and Cuba which are one of the biggest opponents of the West-led international order. While both China and Russia have their own agenda in using BRICS to create a geopolitical counterweight to the West, India is in a different league altogether. First, India does share the dreams of a multipolar world order with them, one where the US is not the only power to call the shots. But in order to realise this dream, it is counting only on its individual potential to rise as a formidable great power and not membership of any forum such as BRICS. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nothing sums this up more clearly than Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in 2024 when he categorically called for the grouping to avoid becoming an anti-West forum as it expands further. Despite having articulated several times that India is a great power in its own right, PM Modi cautioned against the grouping taking an anti-West character. This proves that multipolarity may be a cherished goal for a rising India but to achieve that it is not willing to lock horns with the West. India's stand on BRICS taking an anti-US stance becomes even more apparent when one takes the issue of de-dollarisation into account. Unlike Russia and China that have taken a lead in promoting de-dollarisation of the world economy, India, a rising economy, has many a times affirmed that it has no intent to undermine the US dollar or back a BRICS currency that seeks to do the same. In a speech given on the floor of Parliament early this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar clearly outlined that undermining the American currency was not a part of the country's strategic or economic policy. This stand stems from the stability that India widely enjoys due to its heavy dependence on dollars for international trade, foreign exchange reserves and even remittances. India is also very aware that de-dollarisation would come with an additional risk of Chinese Yuan gaining prominence as an international currency and this is a scenario that India would never find acceptable at all. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India may have its own share of grudges with the West or even the US, including its recent experience during Operation Sindoor, but it will prefer a bilateral mechanism to register them on a one-on-one basis. For India, the scariest geopolitical scenario will be a world where China replaces the US as the hegemon. It is precisely to balance China that India has willingly signed up for the Quad initiative in the Indo-Pacific. Until India and China are locked in this geopolitical tussle, BRICS would never become the kind of forum that US Commerce Secretary Lutnick has accused it to be. In fact, India's presence at BRICS should be seen as a relief by the Americans because it is just the kind of balancing force that they badly need. One of the biggest achievements of India at the forum is to amplify the voice of the Global South and make it a genuinely inclusive grouping. It is time the West, especially the United States, started appreciating the role that India is playing rather than trade charges or undermine the core interests of a so-called ally. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The author is a New Delhi-based commentator on geopolitics and foreign policy. She holds a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She tweets @TrulyMonica. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store